Canada/U.S.: Justin Trudeau announced Thursday that Canada will move cautiously and thoughtfully in lifting sanctions on Iran. “We’re going to be responsible about it,” he said.
A group of Jewish Canadians have penned an open letter calling for “a renewed social justice effort to shine a Jewish light on issues of power and vulnerability in Canada.” With Family Day quickly approaching, a Toronto financial advisor is sponsoring a ‘FUNdraiser’ to benefit Sick Kids Hospital. In Winnipeg, an operation to bring endangered Yazidi families to Canada continues to gain momentum.
A Jewish student at Tufts University was able to raise $100,000 (US) worth of goods for charity after watching a show on extreme couponing. Might be the first time in history that reality TV has proven to be useful.
In democracy news, after over a year of questions, we finally have the answer to which kibbutz Bernie Sanders volunteered on in Israel (surprise: it’s socialist), Barack Obama cited the Jewish fight for civil rights and those who rescued them to illustrate the importance of communities working together, and in a new interview with the Forward, we learn more about the rabbi who impressed the Internet with his question to Hillary Clinton Tuesday.
A Jewish fraternity at the University of Chicago is under fire after BuzzFeed leaked a series of racist emails where members called Muslims terrorists, used the ‘N’ word, and called explosives a hallmark of Islamic culture.
Israel: A Palestinian teenager was killed today before he could throw a molotov cocktail explosive at passersby, Israel has returned the bodies of three terrorists who murdered 19-year-old Hadar Cohen Wednesday, Ramle mayor Yoel Lavi said the murder is not indicative of the mixed Jewish and Arab city (“we have no problems of loyalty here”), Arab politicians have defended meeting with the families of terrorists, and both the IDF and Hamas have signalled that they are not looking to engage in another war, at least for now.
Thanks to a movie about snow being filmed in Tel Aviv, Israelis got to take advantage of what we in the West oft take for granted. At Israel’s Mount Heron, the country’s only ski resort, a one-legged woman did take advantage, going for a dip in the snow:
Mimicking an American social experiment where an actor pretended to be blind and asked strangers to break a five dollar bill (that was actually $100), an Israeli student tried it out in the Holy Land. Watch:
What would you do? Not long ago, an American TV show conducted a social experiment in which an actor pretended to be blind and asked strangers to break a five dollar bill — except he was holding a $100 bill. Many people took advantage of the situation. This week, an Israeli student replicated the experiment. This was the result:Credit: מורן קלפר, קשת
Posted by StandWithUs on Friday, February 5, 2016
World: A promenade in Budapest has been named after the only Holocaust survivor to serve in U.S. Congress, Iraq is seeking to take ISIS offline in a bid to silence its propaganda machine, some 10,000 French Jews are expected to make aliyah this year (alongside 3,000 U.S. Jews and 14,000 from Russia and Ukraine), several Jewish cemeteries and memorials have been defaced in Germany recently, four suspects have been charged in assisting the Copenhagen terrorist who killed two last year (including a synagogue security guard), a British judge has resigned after an investigation into alleged anti-Semitic comments he made, and Oskar Groening, the “Accountant of Auschwitz,” will stand trial for the murder of 1,075 people in April, a German court confirmed today.
Business: Whatsapp, founded by Jewish Ukrainian/American Jan Koum, has officially joined the billion-user club. Speaking of which, Facebook announced today its goal of reaching 5 billion users by 2030.
Sports: A new medical innovation from Israel is looking to minimize the likeliness of professional football players receiving concussions:
WATCH: Concussions jeopardize the future of America’s favorite game – Football. An amazing new medical innovation could save football’s future and keep players safe. And of course, its from ISRAEL! Check out Brain Network Activation, or BNA for short.—-> If you support Israel, let the people of Israel know. Add your name to ISupportIsrael.com now
Posted by The Israel Project on Friday, February 5, 2016
Trending Israeli sports tech company Replay Technologies will be implementing its high-tech prowess for the Super Bowl this Sunday. Of course.
freeD Website Reel (w/ Audio) from Replay-Technologies.com on Vimeo.
Speaking of the Super Bowl, do you consider it a Jewish tradition in your family? Not like Canadians don’t watch it…. Also, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft (whose team will not be participating in Sunday’s festivities) will be bestowed with an honorary doctorate from Yeshiva University in May.
Culture: The Coen Brothers’ latest, Hail Caesar!, is officially out in theatres! Enjoy your weekend.
Will Israelis get the chance to dance in the dark with Bruce Springsteen? Here’s hoping.
On The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Jonah Hill discussed giving Jewish director J.J. Abrams “a giant titty twister.” Jonah, of course, stars in the aforementioned Hail Caesar! alongside a smorgasbord of talented actors (many of whom also belong to the Tribe).
Netflix has renewed not one, not two, but THREE more seasons of Orange is the New Black. Guess Piper’s sentence gets extended?
Saving the best for last, this Saturday will mark Larry David hosting Saturday Night Live for the first time. Should be pretttty, prettttty, prettty good.
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